How to Learn in and from the Chemistry Laboratory

Laboratory activities have long had a distinctive and central role in the chemistry curriculum as a means of making sense of the natural world. For many years chemistry educators have suggested that many benefits accrue from engaging students in the science laboratory. The wide written array of literature illustrates that, the laboratory provides a unique mode of instruction, learning, and assessment. This chapter provides a theoretical overview justifying learning in and from the laboratory in chemistry education and discussing its educational potential. The theoretical discussion is followed by a more practical part that deals with various approaches to the chemistry laboratory, the teachers ' behaviour in the laboratory, assessment of students ' achievement and progress, and other related organisational and educational variables.